Method of manufacturing nonferrous alloy sheets and strips



Jan. s. M MULLAN Er'AL.

METHOD OF MANUFKCTUI R ING NOHFERROUS ALLOY SHEETS AND STRIPS I Jan. 13, 1953 l/VVLWTO/TS j 6'. m/ila/la/l Arrow/[r Fatented Jan. 35, 11935 Letters 1,987,628 m'rnon or mmimornanvo un- EUUS ALLOY SHEETS ANB S Samuel McMullan, Downers Grove, and Elmore dteele Strang, ()ak Park, 111., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y... a corporation of New York Application January 13, 1933, Serial No. 651.5%

15Claims.

This invention relates to a method of forming articles, and more particularly to a method of forming thin sheets and tape of non-ferrous metal. p

An object of the invention is to provide a method for forming articles, such as sheets and tape, of min -ferrous metal with a minimum of labor and expense;

One embodiment of the invention contemplates a method of forming sheets or strips of certain non-ferrous alloys which comprises castingvthe alloy into a billet substantially free of impurities and containing notmore than 0.1 percent of lead, and hot rolling the billet into a sheet or strip while maintaining it within a predetermined temperature ',:range above the temperature at which the particular alloy becomes brittle while being worked, hereinafter referred to as the critical" temperature. After the sheet has been it may be cold rolled to the desired gauge by successive heavy reductions without intermediate annealing operations. It a soft sheet is desired it is annealed after the completion of the final cold rolling operation, when the metal has been reduced to the desired thickness. Where a definite degree of hardness is required, the sheet is cold rolled down to a thickness slightly above the desired gauge, is then annealed, and is finally brought down to the desired gauge. This produces a degree of hardness which approximately corresponds to the amount of reduction after the annealing step.

The invention will be more fully understood from the following description, taken in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which the single figure diagrammatically illustrates the various steps of the process.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the reference numeral 1 represents a furnace wherein the billets oi non-ferrous metal are first heated to a hot rolling temperature, the precise temperature depending upon the composition of the particular alloy being treated, the speed of handling and rolling, and other factors. A heated billet 2 is then removed from the furnace and passed through the hot rolls 3-4, which may be arranged in tandem or otherwise and which reduce it by heavy drafts or passes to a sheet of about to per cent of the original thickness of the bihet without lowering its temperature below the "critical temperature 01 the particular metal being treated. The sheet is then allowed.

to cool in air, which anneals the metal without the neeessiw for a smcial heating and annealing allowed to cool below the annealing temperature,

In case a is desired to impart to the finished article a definite degree of hardness, the sheet is brought, by rolls 11, to a thickness or gauge only slightly greater than that desired, is then anhealed in an annealing oven 12, and thereafterpassed through cold rolls 14, which may be oi? the backed-up type, to bring the sheet to the desired gauge. The final rolling operation on rolls 14 produces in the metal a degree of hardness which corresponds to the amount of reduction made thereby; that is, the greater the reduction the harder the finished product.

When employing the method of the present invention for forming sheets of copper -zinc alloys containing 63 to 68 per cent of copper, it is essential that the alloys be substantially free of impurities. It has been found that the presence of more than 0.1 per cent of lead will usually render it impossibleto work these alloys in the manner described above. This is true, also, for copper-nickel-z'inc alloys containing 53.5 to 73.5 per cent or copper and 16.5 to 19.5 per cent of nickel- Accurate control of the temperature through-' copper-nickel-zinc alloysof the above mentioned compositions. The hot rolling temperatures of these alloys should never be allowed to fall below the "critical" temperatures, which are apprommately 1350 F. and 1e5o FE, respectively,-for the copper-zinc and the copper-nickel-zinc alloys referred to. Furthermore, the hot rolling temperature for these alloys should .never exceed a predetermined maximum, which is 1550 F. iorthe A copper-zinc alloy containing 66 per cent of copper is cast into a billet substantially free of impurities and containing not more than 0.1 per cent, preferably less than 0.05 per cent of lead.

The billet is heated to approximately 1500 F. in the furnace 1, and is then passed through the hot rolls 34 where its thickness is reduced in five passes from two and one-half inches to .150 inches, each pass reducing the thickness of the metal by about 40 to per cent. Preferably by controlling the speed of rolling the resulting sheet emerges from the hot rolls at a temperature above 1350 F., and it is then allowed to cool in air, thereby annealing the metal. The sheet is then pickled and is next passed through the cold rolls 9. 10 and 11, where its thickness is reduced from .150 inches to .020 inches, each pass reducing the thickness of the metalby about per cent. The

metal is now placed in the annealing oven 12 and annealed in the usual manner, after which it is reduced to a final gauge of say .018 inches by the cold rolls 14, which cold rolling operation imparts a definite and predetermined degree of hardness to the metal, corresponding to the amount of reduction in thickness from .020 inches to .018 inches. If the metal is to be finished soft, the

a rolling through rolls 14 is omitted. rolls 11 being so adjusted as to reduce the sheet to the desired thickness.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference to certain embodiments thereof, various modifications may be made therein, and it is intended to claim such modifications as fall within the terms of the appended claims.

What isclalmed is: I

1. A method of forming sheets of a copperzinc alloy containing from 63 to 68 per cent of copper, which comprises heating a billet of said alloy to a temperature between 1350 F. and

.- 1550 F. and hot rolling the billet to av sheet while maintaining the temperature thereof within said range.

2. A method of forming sheets of a copperzinc alloy containing from 63 to 68 per cent of copper, which comprises casting a billet of said alloy containing not more than 0.1 per cent oi lead, heating the billet to a temperature between 1350 F. to 1550? R, and reducing the billet to a sheet while maintaining-the temperature thereof within said range.

3. A method of forming sheets of a copper-zinc alloy containing from 63 to 68 per cent of copper, which comprises casting a billet of said alloy containing not more than 0.05 per cent of lead, and hot rolling the billet into a sheet while maintain ing the temperature thereof above 1350 F.

4. A method of forming thin sheets of a copperzinc alloy containing from 63 to 68 per cent of copper, which comprises hot rolling a billet of said .alloy into a sheet while maintaining the temperature thereof above 1350 F., and then cold rolling the sheet to substantially the desired gauge.

5. A method of forming sheets of a coppernickel-zinc alloy containing from 53.5 to 73.5 per cent of copper and 16.5 to 19.5 percent of nickel, which comprises casting a billet of said alloy containing not more than 0.1 per cent of lead, heating the billet to a temperature between F. to 1650 F., and reducing the heated billet to a sheet while maintaining the temperature thereof within said range.

6. A method of forming sheets of a coppernickel-zinc alloy containing from 53.5 tab-56.5 per cent of copper and 16.5 to per cent of nickel, which comprises heating a billet of said alloy to a temperature between 1450" F. and 1650 F., and reducing the heatedbillet to a sheet while main-- taining the temperature thereof within said range.

'7. A method of forming sheets of a coppernickel-zinc alloy containing from 70.5 to 73.5 per cent of copper and 16.5 to 19.5 per cent of nickel, which comprises heating a billet of said alloy to a temperature between 1450" F. to 1750" FL, and reducing the heated billet to a sheet while maintaining the temperature thereof within said range.

8. A method of working a copper-zinc alloy containing 63 to 68 per cent copper and substantially free of impurities which comprises heating a billet of said alloy to a temperature between 1350 F. and 1550" F., hot rolling the billet to form a sheet by such reductions as to maintain the temperature in said range, cooling the sheet at a rate to effect an annealing thereof, and cold rolling the sheet to the desired gauge.

9. A method of forming sheets of a copper-zinc alloy containing from 63 to 68 per cent of copper, which comprises heating a billet of said alloy to a temperature between 1350" F. and 1550 F. and hot rolling the billet to a sheet by such reductions and at such a rate as to maintain the temperature thereof within said range, allowing the sheet to cool to effect an annealing thereof, andeold rolling the sheet.

10. A method of forming sheets of a copperzinc alloy containing from 63 to 68 per cent of copper, which comprises casting a billet of said alloy containing not more than 0.1 per cent of lead, heating the billet to a temperature between 1350 F. to 1550 F., reducing the billet to a sheet by such reductions and at such a rate as to maintain the temperature thereof within said range, allowing the sheet to cool to eflect an annealing thereof, and cold rolling the sheet.

11. A method of forming sheets of a copperzinc alloy containing from 63 to 68 per cent of copper, which comprises casting a billet of said alloy containing not more than 0.05 per cent of lead,'heating the billet to a hot rolling temperature, hot rolling the billet into a sheet by such reductions and at such a rate as tomaintain the sheet at the hot rolling temperature, allowing the sheet to cool to eflect the annealing thereof, and cold rolling the sheet.

12. A method of forming sheets of a copper-.

nickel, which comprises casting a billet of said alloy containing not more than 0.1 per cent of lead, heating the billet to a temperature between 1450" F. to 1650 F., reducing the heated billet to a sheet by such reduction and at such a rate as to maintain the temperature thereof within said range, allowing the sheet to cool to provide an annealed sheet, and cold rolling the annealed sheet to the desired gauge. I

14. A method of forming sheets of a coppernickel-zinc alloy containing from 53.5 to 56.5 per I 1,987,628 cent of copper and 18.5.to 19.5 per cent of nickel;

10 nickel-zinc alloy containing from 10.5 to 73.5 per cent of copper and 16.5 to 19.5 per cent of nickel,

which comprises heating a billet of said alloy to a temperatureot 1450 F. to 1750 1"" reducing the heated billet to a sheet by such reductions and at siich a rate as to maintain the temperature within said range, allowing the sheet to cool to provide an annealed sheet. and cold rolling the annealed sheet to the desired gauge. 

